Chachere, Wingard Named to Preseason Thorpe Award Watchlist

The 2017 Jim Thorpe Award preseason watchlist was released on Friday and of the 45 defensive backs named on the watchlist, two of them are from the Mountain West.

San Jose State’s Andre Chachere and Wyoming’s Andrew Wingard were the two players from the Mountain West selected to be on the Thorpe Award preseason watchlist. The Thorpe Award is given to the best defensive back in the nation that is based on performance on the field as well as athletic ability and character.

Chachere and Wingard, who were both named on the preseason Nagurski Award watchlist as well, are two of the best defensive backs the conference had to offer based on their outstanding performances last season.

Chachere, who started 11 games for San Jose State in 2016, recorded 36 tackles and grabbed four interceptions which led the team in that category. He was fourth in the nation in passes defended averaging 1.5 a game while earning first team all-Mountain West last season.

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Andrew Wingard recorded 131 (75 solo) tackles and two interceptions for the Cowboys last season while earning first team all-Mountain West conference honors. Wingard’s performance last season was one of the reasons why the Cowboys won the Mountain Division of the Mountain West and finished with a 8-6 record.

The Thorpe Award watchlist will add additional players throughout the season then three players will be named as finalist late in the season. Of those three, the winner will be named on December 7th at the Home Depot College Football Awards on ESPN.